Bathing device for invalided persons

ABSTRACT

When bathing invalided persons, it is desirable that the bath tub be located at a certain level above the base flooring. This may be brought about by lifting an ordinary low tub, or by lifting the person to be treated into a high tub. The person rests in a cradle pivotably mounted at a pillar structure, so it can be swung in and out with respect to the tub.

United States Patent 1191 Loren June 17, 1975 BATHING DEVICE FOR INVALIDED PERSONS [75] Inventor: Jan Loren, Goteborg, Sweden [73] Assignee: Soderberg Tollam AB, Vastra Frolunda, Sweden 221 Filed: May 24, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 363,408

52 11.8. C1. 4/185 L 51 1m.c1 ..A47k 3/12 [58] Field of Search 4/185 L, 185 R, 185 8,

4/185 AB, 173-178, 182; 134/118; 128/369; 1 5/81 R, 83-85, 92

[56] 1 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,187,283 l/l940 Schlutz 4/185 L X 2,686,557 8/1954 Karlsson et al 4/185 L X 3,071,779 l/l963 Turner 4/185 L 3,078,475 2/1963 Turner 4/185 L 3,166,282 l/1965 Nolan 4/185 L X 3,268,918 8/1966 Batty et al 4/185 L 3,280,409 10/1966 Cotner 4/185 L 3,317,928 5/1967 Root 4/185 L 3,457,569 7/1969 Von Aroeune et al. 4/185 L 3,714,672 2/1973 Condon 4/185 L OTHER PUBLICATIONS The Gootur Hydraulic Bathtub Seat"; Turner Applicator Co., Sidney, Ohio; April 19, 1962.

Primary Examiner-John W. Huckert Assistant Examiner-John M. Jillions Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Holman & Stern [57] ABSTRACT When bathing invalided persons, it is desirable that the bath tub be located at a certain level above the base flooring. This may be brought about by lifting an ordinary low tub, or by lifting the person to be treated into a high tub. The person rests in a cradle pivotably mounted at a pillar structure, so it can be swung in and out with respect to the tub.

1 Claim, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN 1 7 I975 SHEET FIG. I

SHEET PATENTEDJUN 1 7 I975 BATHING DEVICE FOR INVALIDED PERSONS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION said device including in connection with a base flooring, a pillar structure resting thereon, a bathtub, a platform for carrying the person and-power means for bringing about a relative movement in the vertical di-- rection between the platform and bathtub. Such de vices are standard equipment in hospitals, old peoples homes and similar institutions. '1

. PRIOR ART Several devices are known in the art, which include a platform on which a patientmay be placed, either sitting or lying down, outside the bath tub, after which .the,

than the level at which the patient is brought-to the bathtub. The patient may arrive sitting in a wheel chair or lying on a wheeled litter. 1

The devices hitherto used for transferring a patient from a wheeled carriage into the bathtub, and back again, have been cumbersome, difficult to operate and they furthermore have made the bathtub'difficultto,

clean after use.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a device, which may be used with different types of installations suited to various local facilities in which; either-the tub or the platform is stationary and the CQunterpart component, i.e. the platform or the tub, is displaceable up and down.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an elevation of a bathing arrangement of a first embodiment according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of FIG. 1 as viewed from above,

FIG. 3 shows a section along line IIIIII in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 shows a corresponding section through a somewhat modified embodiment,

FIG. 5 on a larger scale shows, and partly in section, a detail of the lifting mechanism as viewed from above,

FIG. 6 shows, partly in section, an elevation of a bathing arrangement according to a further, modified embodiment, and

FIGS. 7 and 8 show sections thereof corresponding to those of FIGS. 4 and 5.

2 DESCRIPTION or soME PREFERRED '4 h EMBODIMENTS, I In FIG. 1,.ireference 1 denotes a bathtub carried by brackets 2. These are displaceable in the vertical direction by means of a lifting mechanism fitted at a pillar structure 3,which is fixedly, attached to abase flooring.

The pillar structure isprovided with a fixed, vertical pivot 4 carrying by means of a sleeve bearing a cradle structure 5,;including a cantilever seat 6. Thelower portion of the pillar structure includes a forked frame 7 ,which at the end remote from the pillar structure is provided with a pair of adjustable feet members 8. A

further pair of adjustable feet 9 are provided beneath the pillar structure proper.

FIG. 2 shows-how the seat 6 may be swung from a position above the tub, to a position outside the tub to receive a patient. Itis evident that a platform adapted to receive a lying patient may be used instead of a seat. FIG. -2 further shows the device for supplying water to the tub, which includes a faucet 10 and a hose 11.

FIG.;3,shows-, partly in section, an end view of the pillar structureB-with a liftingmechanism 12. The lifting and the lowering of the tub is brought about by means of a pressure fluid operated motor including a cylinder 13,,a .piston 14 working therein and a piston rod 15.

. The piston rod: 15 is connected to a cross beam 16,

which is provided with sidewardly directed plates 17 and for movement up-and down is guided by two vertical members 18. The top end of the guides are interconnected by means of a beam 19, which locates the guides, servesas a stop for the upwardly movement of the lifting mechanism and also carries the pivot 4. The beams 2 forming the brackets carrying the tub are detachably mounted at the plates 17.

,On some occasions, it may be advantageous to have the pivot for the cradle structure located further away from the longitudinal middle planethan indicated by the fixed,pi vot 4,' and also in such a manner that the cradle cafi be-accessible from either side of the tub. Thismay be a requirement calledfor by local conditions with respect to a wall or other building component, or when it is desirable to have the tub stationary and to raise and to lower the platform.

Each of the sidewardly directed plates 17 is provided with means for detachably mounting a stanchion 20, which at its upper end is provided with a gudgeon pin 21 for cooperation with the cradle structure. In FIG. 4, the stanchion is suited to carry a vertically displaceable cradle structure, and the pin 21 will therefore be located at a higher level than the fixed pivot 4. A stanchion 20 may thus, instead of the beams 2, be attached to any of the plates 17 to make possible a serving from either side of the tub, which on this occasion remains stationary at the base flooring, but preferably is provided with high feet.

The arrangement according to FIGS. 1-3 is operated in the following manner. When the tub, still remaining in its lower position, as shown in full lines in FIG. 1, has been filled with water, the seat is swung to the position shown in dash dotted lines in FIG. 2 in order to receive the patient. The seat is then swung to proper position above the tub, as is shown in full lines in FIG. 2. This movement may be terminated by a fixed stop, or by manual adjustment.

Cylinder 13 is then supplied with pressure fluid so piston 14 is moved upwards, thereby raising the crossbeam 16 and the plates 17 along the guides 18. The

beams 2 carrying the tubiwill also be raised up to a level indicated by dashdotted lines in FIG. 1 at which the seat 6 and the patient is surrounded by watenThe upward movement'can, ofcourse, be terminated at any desirable position below the level indicated by the interruption of the supply of pressure fluid. When the tub is to be lowered, a valve (not shown) spills'the fluid from the cylinder 13 at a controlled rate.

, With the embodiment according to FIGS. 4 and 5, the cradle structure, which may be a full length plat 1 form, is brought outside and below the tub, to a level By designing the pillar structure in the manner above described, it will be possible by simple alterations to make the device suitable for installations in places where .local conditions impose limitations thereon, or

suitable directly to receive a patient from a wheeled litter. The platform is then raised to a level just above the tub, swung inwards over the latter and the lowered thereinto by using the pressure fluid operated motor in the same manner as has been described in connection with FIGS. 1-3. When thewashing has been finished,

the platform is first raised, then swung outside the tub and finally lowered down to the suitable wheeled litter level.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 shows a further modified embodiment, here arranged for service in connection to a fixed, high footed tub. The components are basically the same as in the previously described figures, but the crossbeam 16 is here fitted with a staple structure 22,

which makes possible the fitting of the stanchion 20 in a central position. This will require a modification of the cantilever structure at the cradle, but means that the load .will be imparted centrally upon the pillar structure.

The seat 6a is pivotable on pin 21 which takes part Theexpensive parts of the device, i.e. the pillar structure and the lifting means, may as with the previously described embodiments, bev-used also with installations where the tub is raised and loweredwith respect to a other factors make one embodiment more attractive than the other.

The sa mebasicstructural, elementsmay be used for several applications, wherebymanufacturing, service and maintenance costs will be reduced. A further advantage resides in the fact that the staff, when used to one type of the apparatus will easily learn to handle other types also;

The construction i's sturdy and compact and it is easyto clean the tub and othercomponents, as the cradle may be swung aside*during suchoperations.

What I claim is:

1.'A lifting and lowering mechanism for baths of the type intended for invalided persons and including a bath tub and a platform for carrying-the person to 'be placed in the tub, said lifting and lowering mechanism comprising a pressurefluid operated piston and cylinder unit to be used for alternate lifting and lowering of the bath tub or the carrying platform respectively, in which thereareprovided two vertical guide members, two plates movable vertically alongthe guide members, a cross beam attached to the two plates, the piston of the piston and cylinder unit being fixedly connected to the cross beam, said plates extending sideways outside said guide members, a horizontal bracket for supporting the tub, each of the plates being provided with means for removably securing the horizontal bracket, a vertical stanchion, each of said plates having at its extended portion means for attachment of the vertical stanchion and-means for removably, pivotally fitting said carrying platform to an upper part of said stanchion. 

1. A lifting and lowering mechanism for baths of the type intended for invalided persons and including a bath tub and a platform for carrying the person to be placed in the tub, said lifting and lowering mechanism comprising a pressure fluid operated piston and cylinder unit to be used for alternate lifting and lowering of the bath tub or the carrying platform respectively, in which there are provided two vertical guide members, two plates movable vertically along the guide members, a cross beam attached to the two plates, the piston of the piston and cylinder unit being fixedly connected to the cross beam, said plates extending sideways outside said guide members, a horizontal bracket for supporting the tub, each of the plates being provided with means for removably securing the horizontal bracket, a vertical stanchion, each of said plates having at its extended portion means for attachment of the vertical stanchion and means for removably, pivotally fitting said carrying platform to an upper part of said stanchion. 